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Stunning new images of Saturn’s moons Dione and Enceladus

The Cassini spacecraft finished its four-year mission to explore Saturn and its rings and moons in June 2008. But it is still sending back amazing images. Here are two of the most recent.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has returned some stunning images of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and another moon of Saturn, called Dione.

The spacecraft took these images yesterday (December 20, 2010). Cassini swung past Dione at a distance of about 60,000 miles. It’s Dione’s image that is immediately below. Notice the bright, fractured region – close to the line between dark and light on Dione. These bright fractures are known to space scientists as “wispy terrain,” and they’re a sign that Dione was geologically active sometime in the past. Using images from Cassini, such as this one, NASA scientists say they’ll now be able to measure the depth and extent of these fractures more accurately.

Saturn's moon Dione. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI)

Eight hours after it took the Dione image above, Cassini swept past Saturn’s moon Enceladus. It came within 30 miles of the moon’s northern hemisphere. Several images show this moon backlit, such as the one below, with the dark outline of the moon crowned by glowing jets from the south polar region. Notice that there are several separate jets, or sets of jets, emanating from the fissures known to scientists as “tiger stripes.” Scientists will use the images to pinpoint the jet source locations on the surface and learn more about their shape and variability.

Saturn's moon Enceladus. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI )

As Cassini passed close to Enceladus, the spacecraft’s instruments worked on searching for particles that might form a tenuous atmosphere around this Saturnian moon.

Deborah Byrd created EarthSky as a radio series in 1991 and founded this website in 1994. Today, Byrd still blogs at EarthSky.org, helps write its popular daily Tonight series and serves as overall editor-in-chief. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and as a vital tool for the 21st century. Astrophysics, the night sky and imagining space travel remain among her most enduring lifelong passions.